Right tackle Ereck Flowers, playing his first game at a new position because of his ineffectiveness since being chosen in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft, was called for two penalties on the Giants' opening drive and also allowed second quarter sack of quarterback Eli Manning.

Following the game, Flowers declined to comment about his performance when approached in the locker room by NJ Advance Media, leaving his teammates along the offensive line to answer for what was an uninspiring performance by a unit that is breaking in five new starters this season.

“That was such a weird series,” Nate Solder, signed by the Giants to replace Flowers at left tackle said. “We would make a play, then have a penalty, make a play, then have a penalty. That was kind of a microcosm of how the rest of the game went.”

Meanwhile, Giants right guard Patrick Omameh felt as though it was a point of emphasis to leave that opening drive on the field, as soon as he and his teammates returned to the sideline.

“It’s important not to let it snowball for the rest of the game,” Omameh said. “To a man, we have to just focus in on doing our jobs. Don’t try to win the game on one play. Do your job on that play, that’s the most you can do to help the offense.”

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It wasn’t just a struggle for the offensive line to keep Manning upright, it wasn’t until a dazzling 68-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley with 10:51 remaining in the game, that the running game was able to find any traction.

On Four of Barkley’s eight first half carries, the rookie running back was hit at or behind the line of scrimmage, and according to ESPN Stats and Information, only managed -.4 yards prior to contact.

“Positive runs,” Giants center Jon Halapio said was the biggest thing the Giants offensive line needs to fix off of Sunday’s lackluster performance. “It’s about positive runs. Moving the chains, staying in front of the chains. When we don’t gain yards, when we give up sacks, and things like that, it’s hard. That’s what puts us in those third and longs. We just have to do a better job in the running game, stay ahead of the chains, and that’s how we’ll stay away from those third and longs.

“I think we just didn’t do enough on offense,” Giants center Jon Halapio said. “We have to do a better job of protecting the passer. We have to do a better job in the run-game. We’ll look at the film, try to get it corrected, move on, and try to get it fixed for Dallas.”

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Monday morning, the Giants’ offensive line — and the rest of the team — will gather to break down the film and make the necessary corrections that were exposed by a Jaguars front-seven that might be the best in the NFL and managed two sacks with an interception returned for a touchdown, but it is worth questioning if it’s fair to expect different results in seven days on the road against an NFC East foe Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys.

“In the heat of the game, when you don’t know what’s going on, it’s tough to say anything at all,” Solder said. “I’m sure he had some good plays, and some bad plays, just like us all. We just have to keep moving forward as a team, and continue to improve. Thats what we have to do next week.

“You have to clean things up, I don’t even know what those penalties were. I know I had penalty, so I have to fix my holding and things like that on certain plays, that just can’t happen.”

After ignoring the right tackle position both in free agency and the NFL Draft, it is apparent that the Giants' can't ignore their Flowers problem any longer.

Whether it is giving backup Chad Wheeler an opportunity to take first-team reps in practice this week to see if he can be an upgrade in next Sunday's game, or scouring the waiver wire for available players at the position to bring in as a backup, the Giants need to create some competition for Flowers' job in short order, particularly if he continues to struggle as mightily as he did against Jacksonville.

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

Outside of making a personnel change for the sake of upgrading Flowers' spot, perhaps the biggest key to dominant offensive line play is chemistry and cohesion.

The problem the Giants are now facing is that after spending virtually every snap from the spring’s OTAs through the preseason and Sunday’s opener together as a unit, it’s difficult to imagine that three days of practice this week will somehow flip the switch for this group that was manhandled at the line of scrimmage against Jacksonville.

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It would be easy to say that the offensive line started to find its footing and come together a bit on Barkley's touchdown run, but even that carry was the case of Barkley making the most out of very little room to operate.

Even on Barkley’s 68-yard run, he made at least two defenders miss at or behind the line of scrimmage before darting for the sideline and winning a footrace to the end zone.

Omameh says he takes comfort in the fact that none of his teammates packed it in, even before Barkley pulled the Giants within five with his touchdown run.

“Nobody quit,” Omameh said. “That’s not something you can coach. It’s grit, and toughness. Everybody on the team fought until the very end. That’s what we need to have in us for the rest of the year.”

This week it is incumbent on Giants head coach Pat Shurmur and offensive line coach Hal Hunter to make the necessary corrections, that at times, are difficult to make in the heat of a game, as Sunday proved.

“We just have to all be on the same page,” Halapio Said. “I think it starts with communication. We have to watch the film, see where we messed up, correct them in time for Dallas, and don’t let them repeat.”

“We just all have to be on the same page, wipe out the mistakes, and move on to the next play. That’s the biggest thing … When you mess up, you have to forget about it, move on to the next play, and not let it effect the next play.”

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Pat Shurmur said during training camp that the lofty potential of the Giants' offense with Barkley, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., Evan Engram, and Sterling Shepard will only go as far as the offensive line is able to block for them.

Sunday's early returns, were disappointing, but rookie left guard Will Hernandez is hopeful that with the corrections made in meetings and on the practice field this week will lead to a different attitude and different results up front in a pivotal game against the Cowboys.

"That's one thing about us," rookie left guard Will Hernandez told NJ Advance Media. "We're never going to throw in the towel. We're not going to let one bad play or a couple of bad plays defeat us. Now, what we're trying to get to, is not putting ourselves in that position in the first place.

"We don't want to have to fight back. We want to stay ahead of the chains, go out there and just play how we play."

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Matt Lombardo may be reached at MLombardo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardoNFL